The retro dishes that haunt us


Remember the “casseroles” and “salads” from your grandma’s vintage cookbooks and the holiday buffet tables of your childhood? In their heyday, Spam, Jell-O and Cool Whip had a starring role in almost everything. Processed food and even more processed presentation was king. Here we take a look at some of the food nightmares we just can’t forget…



Microsoft may earn an Affiliate Commission if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

Pretty pickle tower

A table decoration that’s functional and filling, this recipe for Alice Anderson’s pretty pickle tree was published in Chatelaine magazine in December 1967. If you were wondering how to make it – and even if you weren’t – it’s a wedge of cheese with the base trimmed so it stands upright, which has Heinz pickle slices and pickled onions studded into it with toothpicks.



Microsoft may earn an Affiliate Commission if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

Curry in a Hurry

In a rush? Take a shortcut to your favorite curry with a couple of quick tricks from Aylmer and Gold Seal canned foods in this 1970s recipe. All you need is tuna, cream of chicken soup, peach slices, mushrooms, onions, curry powder, almonds and a stomach of steel to be able to keep it down.



Microsoft may earn an Affiliate Commission if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

Campbell’s meatloaf three ways

To make us eat more of its products, Campbell’s suggested three terrifying new ways to present meatloaf. Frosted with mashed potatoes and a drizzle of mushroom soup, as a giant meatball over spaghetti with tomato soup and – probably the most horrifying – shaped like a bundt cake, glazed with cheese soup. The vintage advert was published in Good Housekeeping in 1969.



Microsoft may earn an Affiliate Commission if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

Pepped-up beef hash


Looking for a way to make corned beef hash more appetizing? Simply serve it stuffed and baked in a parboiled pepper. The finishing touch is a squeeze of catsup, another name for ketchup in the 1950s, and horseradish. Appetizing, if you’re a dog or a cat.



Microsoft may earn an Affiliate Commission if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

Spam casserole

These may look like the three worst Spam dinners of all time, but in 1958 food manufacturer Hormel Foods posed the big question: which Spam dinner is top winner? And this lot came out on top. Spam Country Dinner (egg noodles, chicken soup, Spam and vegetables) seized the top spot, followed by 6-in-1 Supper Bake (a Spam, macaroni, mushroom soup and vegetables casserole) and Spam ‘N’ Rice Ring (a rice, Spam and soup bundt filled with vegetables). Oh how far we’ve come in the last 60 years.



Microsoft may earn an Affiliate Commission if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

Green Beans Gretel

An old-country feast, Green Beans Gretel was published in Family Circle in 1963. Del Monte green beans are cooked in butter, onion, pimento, horseradish and mustard, and served with chicken and noodles. So far so good. But the presentation with a whole roast chicken on top? It’s a little barbaric and probably makes carving and serving difficult too.

These are America’s oldest surviving food brands



Microsoft may earn an Affiliate Commission if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

Veg-All Tuna Casserole


Tuna noodle casserole was a massive hit in the 1950s as it was cheap and easy to feed the family. However, this Veg-All Tuna Casserole, made with tinned mixed vegetables, tuna, chopped onion, Worcestershire sauce, breadcrumbs and cheese, published in 1953 takes things a step too far. It doesn’t have any pasta in it and has ketchup squirted on top.



Microsoft may earn an Affiliate Commission if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

Spam Brittany

In the 1960s, a hearty, good-value dinner in America might have featured Spam, a processed pork that gained popularity during the Second World War. This recipe for Spam Brittany, published in Woman’s Day in 1967, jazzes it up by alternating meat slices with apple, giving it an orange marmalade glaze and clove studs. Think of it as a poor man’s meatloaf.



Microsoft may earn an Affiliate Commission if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

Veg-All Pie Plate Salad

The canned food brand is at it again, this time with Pie Plate Salad. Tinned vegetables are added to lemon gelatin, set in a mold, sliced into pie cuts and garnished with tartar sauce. Only a couple of slices and you’ll have reached your five-a-day.



Microsoft may earn an Affiliate Commission if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

Surprise! Mayo mold

This mayo mold from the 1970s was the height of impressive hosting in its day. Looking like the result of hours of work in the kitchen, it actually comes from a recipe box that shows you exactly what ingredients to use. A masterful meal or masterful marketing from Knox? You decide.

Take a look at these vintage food adverts from your childhood



Microsoft may earn an Affiliate Commission if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

Coleslaw in a cabbage

Presentation is everything when it comes to getting people to eat questionable coleslaws and no era knew this better than the 1960s and 1970s. This advert published in Woman’s Day in 1966 displays how seafood coleslaw can be made to look like the center of a flower and cottage cheese coleslaw works well in geometric shapes.



Microsoft may earn an Affiliate Commission if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

Souper sandwiches

In the 1950s Campbell’s convinced us that sandwiches could be made hot and hearty by substituting the top slice of bread for sauce made from tinned soup. It suggests chicken soup for a chicken sandwich, tangy tomato soup for cheese, creamy celery on ham, and mushroom soup for beef. The advert artwork doesn’t look particularly appetizing and we doubt the dish did in real life either.



Microsoft may earn an Affiliate Commission if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

7-Layer Casserole

This 7-Layer Casserole published in Good Housekeeping in 1958 may look good in the picture but just imagine it after everyone at the buffet table has stuck a fork in. Uncooked rice is topped with sweetcorn, Hunt’s Tomato Sauce, seasoning, chopped onion, green pepper, raw ground beef, a second tin of tomato sauce and bacon, and baked in the oven.



Microsoft may earn an Affiliate Commission if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

Jell-O salad


Somehow, for the best part of a century, Jell-O convinced America it was a necessary ingredient in salad. Yet miraculously, we survive without it now. It came in six flavors, but a popular one was lime, displayed in this vintage advert featuring pieces of olives, celery and cheese. The advice was don’t let a week go by without serving one – something keen home cooks jumped on.



Microsoft may earn an Affiliate Commission if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

Watergate salad


One dish from the 1970s we wish we could forget is watergate salad, ambrosia’s green cousin. It consists of tinned pineapple, mini marshmallows, whipped cream, chopped nuts and Kraft pistachio instant pudding mix. And if there’s one thing we’ve learned from it, throwing handfuls of eclectic sweet ingredients into the same bowl and stirring will never produce a good pudding.



Microsoft may earn an Affiliate Commission if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

Hamburger with a new look

Imported Spanish green olives had some serious marketing acumen back in the day and managed to persuade us the salty nibble was a great accompaniment to any dish. We were sticking them on cheese logs, frankfurters and even burgers. We think this hamburger published in Good Housekeeping in 1958 would’ve been better without them.

Take a look at these popular childhood snacks you’ll never forget



Microsoft may earn an Affiliate Commission if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

Lime pear and olive carrot molds

Lemon mayo sounds appealing served with tinned pears and lime Jell-O, right? Not really. What about lemon Jell-O with stuffed olives, grated carrots and the zingy condiment? In 1965, a Kraft Mayonnaise advert in Look magazine wanted us to try these recipes, insisting a touch of lemon juice was just the ticket to perk up flavor. The crafty advertising team at Kraft certainly lived up to their name with this campaign.



Microsoft may earn an Affiliate Commission if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

Cling-a-Ling salad

With a name like Cling-a-Ling salad, you just know it’s going to be dreadful. This recipe from a 1967 Family Circle is for a double-layer jelly made from Miracle Whip (a mayo alternative), gelatin, instant pudding and cling peaches, and served on a bed of iceberg lettuce. We think we’ll pass.



Microsoft may earn an Affiliate Commission if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

Creamettes macaroni salad bowl

Another 1960s salad that can only be loosely classified by this definition, the Creamettes macaroni salad bowl describes itself as a “light and leafy 7-minute meal”. With ingredients including diced Spam, salad oil, mayo and Cheddar, we’re thinking less light and leafy and more seven-minute mess.



Microsoft may earn an Affiliate Commission if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

Toast Basket à la King

This creamy chicken dish was popular throughout the 20th century and a Swanson recipe for it published in Family Circle in 1953 even received the Good Housekeeping seal of approval. White bread is spread with margarine, baked in the oven and topped with a can of Swanson Chicken à la King. A recipe for how to pour a tin over toast – it does make you question things, doesn’t it.



Microsoft may earn an Affiliate Commission if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

Hot dog plate

This alarming hot dog plate was seen in a 1942 McCall’s magazine feature that wanted its readers to try out a new type of skinless frankfurter. It describes them as tender and nourishing, urging home cooks to serve it tonight with fried potatoes and chili sauce. We don’t reckon this advert would make it into print today.



Microsoft may earn an Affiliate Commission if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

Spaghetti meatball sundae

A savory dish that’s mistaken by kids for treat food isn’t much to be proud of today, but Chef Boy-Ar-Dee shouted it from the rooftops. The brand insisted that while children would love it, it was nourishing too. Either tinned spaghetti and meatballs has massively deteriorated in quality since the 1970s or this advert is overselling itself.



Microsoft may earn an Affiliate Commission if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

Skillet risotto with Velveeta

In the 1970s the idea of an appetizing supper was something along the lines of this rice and ground beef skillet with squares of Velveeta processed cheese patchworked on top. It’s described as “Convenient, wholesome, economical and delicious” – we’re not so sure about that.

Check out these strange food combos that really work



Microsoft may earn an Affiliate Commission if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

Souper Barbecue Sauce

A further attempt from Campbell’s to get us to use its products. In a 1957 issue of Ladies Home Journal the brand suggested its tomato soup mixed with brown sugar, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, sweet-pickle relish and chopped onion was the perfect accompaniment to any barbecued meat. Just look at it dripping off those sausages and burgers. Bon appétit.

These are the retro ingredients we wish would make a comeback



Microsoft may earn an Affiliate Commission if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

Patio Platter

For cooks that stay as cool as the company, this Patio Platter from Miracle Whip and Knox published in Reader’s Digest in 1965 was the dish to make. The fruit cocktail and mayo Jell-O was said to pair perfectly with cold cuts of ham, chicken or turkey and Kraft cheese slices. And no one will ever know the secret ingredient: frozen lemonade concentrate.

Check out these retro dishes that deserve a comeback



Microsoft may earn an Affiliate Commission if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.


26/26 SLIDES